New Gadgets

Kenwood have just unveiled a new designer styled iPhone, iPod dock named the Kenwood CLX-70. Its equipped with DTS Envelo speakers and is powered by a 30W amp providing three-dimensional soundstage sound according to Kenwood.

Its compatible with iPhone 3G, 3GS  and iPhone 4 together with iPod touch, second gen iPod nano and the iPod classic.

The Kenwood CLX-70 also has a 30- pin dock connector,USB port, SD card slot and an MP3 compatible CD slot for playing music from a wide range of alternative sources.

Its available in pink, white, and black and measures 65x188x105 mm (18.3×7.4×4.13 in) it weighs 2.7 kg or 6 lbs and will be arriving on the Japanese market this month.

The Phonofone III just like the Phonofone II  will allow you to amplify your iPhone music collection to 60dB without the need to plug the Phonofone III into any power outlet.

The Phonofone is a passive amplifier crafted from ceramic and designed for the iPhone, taking the tunes emitted from the iPhone internal speaker and amplifying them 4 x to the 60dB. Its compatible was first generation iPhones, 3G and 4G.

However unlike its predecessor the Phonefone II which cost around $900, the new third version will be available for $195. The first 50 will be serial numbered pieces and is available to purchase now from Science & Sons

We don’t have clock radios anymore, we have audio systems. Witness the Yamaha  TXS-140 Desktop Audio System, which wakes you gradually.

Coming in a range of earth-inspired colors, the TSX-140 works with an iPod Touch and the iPhone. It can also play MP3 and WMA files stores on a USB flash drive. Oh, and it has an AM/FM radio.

What makes it special is the InteliAlarm, which wakes you with the audio source of your choice. It starts by filtering out uncomfortable high frequencies, then gradually restores the full audio spectrum. Finally, it beeps, to tell you to get the heck out of bed. It’s all gentle and stress-free. Until the beeping. You can pick one up for a list price of $399.95. Is it too late for a Black Friday deal?

I love my iPod, and I especially love my music collection, what I don’t love is trying to listen to my iPod in the car. I hate driving with earbuds and my stupid little portable speaker just doesn’t cut it. But since the introduction of Airplay, Apple’s new streaming technology that allows audio (photos and video) to be streamed from any iOS device to another iOS device, I knew good things were about to happen.

Enter PhotoFast, the newest way to listen to your tunes, the way you want to, in your car. After what appears to be a somewhat labor intensive, although pretty straightforward installation, this cool little black WIFI box will automatically turn on when you start your car and will connect with your WIFI enabled device, streaming your music library through your stereo system. Very nice.

You will have the ability to pause, fast forward and rewind using your iPod. The PhotoFast is designed to transmit high quality sound. Works with iPad, iPod and iPhone.

Surely some car manufacturers will be jumping on the Airplay bandwagon, but until then, PhotoFast is now available in Japan, and look for it sometime soon, in a store near you for around $299.00

I first encountered the Mikey at CES 2009, and the first version was a handy microphone made to plug into the charging port end of an iPod.

They have since come out with the Mikey 2.0, which is made for the iPhone and iPod Touch. I happen to have the latter, and I found that Mikey 2.0 works as well as the original.

For those who are not aware, the iPod Touch comes with a voice recorder, but an external mic is required for earlier generations of it. Unfortunately, the Voice recording app is pretty poor and records in mono. Fortunately, Blue Microphones has a free App known as Blue FiRe, which can record audio in CD quality, and is very easy to use.

For some reason, Mikey 2.0 is more curvaceous and less angular than its predecessor, and it can bend in 7 angle adjustments “for any environment”. I’m not sure how many angles the first version could do, but the 3 gain settings have been effectively passed on to version 2.0.

All in all, Mikey 2.0 is a very advanced external microphone, and if you are looking for something to record lectures, concerts, voice memos, interviews, or audio journaling, you should get it. It is available on Amazon for an affordable price of $73.39.

The iPhone does a lot, but it doesn’t have it’s own printer. Wait, now it does.

The Bolle BP-10 is a photo printer dedicated to the iPhone that can print 4″x6″ photos from single, or multiple images. You control the printer with an app that Bolle has created, which can be downloaded for free from the App Store.

The iPhone communicates with the printer via the standard iPhone port, and the printer also acts as a charging station for the phone. The printer is compatible with iPhone, iPhone 2007, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 4.

If you’re sick to death of 3D already, then bad news – here’s one more annoying toy for you to ignore. If you love 3D and have an iPhone or iPod Touch, then you can celebrate: for just $30, you’ll soon be able to buy this plastic toy from Hasbro which turns your iDevice into a modern-day Viewmaster.

The iPhone slots into the back of the My3D, and compatible apps show side-by-side images to your eyes, creating a stereoscopic effect. Hasbro has teamed up with Dreamworks already, to bring you spin-offs of the second-tier animation house’s cartoons, and there are plans for all sorts of virtual travel apps, games and underwater diving “experiences”.

It could be kind of neat and fun, if you’re under 10 years old. It’s hard to see an adult schlepping these auxiliary goggles just to enjoy a 3D version of a compatible travel-guide. But then, it’s Hasbro, the toy people, so what do you expect.

Perhaps my favorite part of the whole press push is a quote from Hasbro boss Brian Goldner. HE’s obviously listing some great ways to use the toy, but it ends up sounding like he’s describing the cutthroat world of Hollywood:

“The idea of being able to be somewhere in Los Angeles, in this 360-degree environment, to be in the shark tank, to be able to swim with the fish and chase after the fish.”

Apple has filed for a patent application  related to methods and apparatus for connecting together two electrical devices in which mating connector on each device are of different sizes.

The mismatch of physical design can be overcome by the use of an audio adapter that is constructed from a plug having one dimension, a jack having another dimension and a coupler that physically and electrically connects the plug and jack together, forming a single unit. Such a design would allow a device like the iPhone to be coupled with devices such as the Ameriphone – cell phone for the deaf – and use Bose’s QuietComfort headphones. If such a design improved the accessibility of Apple’s iPhone, it’s definitely a step in the right direction.

Here’s something you don’t see everyday. The Bone Horn Stand uses old technology to enhance modern technology.

It’s an un-powered amplifier for the iPhone 4, that works exactly like those old style horn speakers on gramophones. The speaker fits over the end of the iPhone where the built in speakers are.

Then the sound is channeled through the horn, and it supposedly adds 12 decibels of sound pressure to your iPhone’s built in speakers. The device can also be used as a stand.

Walkmans and Discmans are passe, and an MP3 player or an iPod is what the majority of people are using. Listening to your MP3 player or iPod with headphones is fine if you are on the go, but if you want to play it out loud for yourself and your friends, an iPod dock is a great accessory to have (provided you have an iPod in the first place) There are so many of them available, and there is a dock for everybody. But how do you know if you are buying the right one? Here’s a step-by-step buying guide that’ll help you make the right decision.

Compatibility
Your first step would be to see whether your iPod is compatible with the docks of your choice. You will need an adapter for some of the earlier iPods, without which you will not be able to use the dock. With some earlier iPods, you may need to connect it using the connector cable, which actually does not make sense, as the iPod won’t get charged. However, all the new iPods will not have this problem, except for the iPod Shuffle, with which you will have no choice but to connect with a 3.5 mm pin like you would any other MP3 player. The great thing about having a dock is that you can also connect an iPhone to most of them, although some of them might not mention this feature. However do take care, some docks really are non-compatible, and you may experience some irritating noises when your cell phone is about to ring.

Usage, Price and Size
What do you want to use your iPod dock for? Do you want it to be a party entertainer when your friends and family come over, would you like to use it for backing tracks while you practice your bathroom singing, or would you like to use it on the go? There are a lot of other factors that come into play here. And all these factors are linked to each other. For instance, budget. You can get a small iPod dock like the JBL On Stage Micro for Rs 4,990 or if you’re feeling rich, the Bose SoundDock 10 for around eight times the price. Of course, there are plenty of other docks that are cheaper and way more expensive as well.

When you’ve figured out how much you want to spend, the next step is to ensure you know what you will be using the dock for. If it is too small, it most certainly won’t be the life at parties, and if it is too big, well there’s the size and the fact that you won’t be able to keep it at your bedside table. Another aspect you should definitely look at is whether it is battery operated if you plan on carrying it around with you.

Sound
It is really easy to say ‘just buy the one that sounds best’, but how do you know if the sound is really good? You need to check for telltale signs of bad drivers and digital-to-analog convertors (DAC). If you buy some cheap junk, you might think you are saving money, but the audio quality will definitely suffer. So make sure that there are no excess vibrations coming from the dock and that the bass is sufficient. Also, ensure that the sound doesn’t distort at high volumes, although this is likely to happen even with small docks from reputed companies.

Features
Many docks come with extra features such as alarm clocks, radio, dual-docking systems, etc. You might want something that has some of these features, or even a simple dock to charge your iPod/iPhone and listen to music. The more features you find on a dock, the more expensive it might be, and sometimes, these features are barely of any use. For instance, the JBL On time Micro has features such as brightness and contrast for a monochrome display. This is something they could’ve done without, in turn shaving off the price on an expensive, but otherwise good product.

There are other features that you might want in a dock too, such as an auxiliary input for plugging in your laptop, mobile phone or portable media player. Some small docks like the JBL On Stage Micro take it a step higher by providing audio outputs so you can connect them to louder speakers. This particular dock also has a mini USB port so you can hook it up to your PC.

Going the extra mile
There are some really extravagant pieces of audio equipment that also throw in an iPod docking system, for example, Panasonic’s SC-PT470 , which is a full-blown home theatre setup that has an iPod dock as well. This is a good option for those who want an all-in-one system where they can watch movies, as well as plug in their iPod or iPhone. But where one succeeds, another must fail, and Philips has done that with the HTS9140 Soundbar. Instead of keeping it simple, they’ve added an 8-pin connector and expect you to buy a separate dock from them to connect your iPod/iPhone.